[MATH-654] ValueServer not deterministic for a fixed random number seed

• Type: Bug
• Status: Closed
• Priority: Major
• Resolution: Fixed
• Affects Version/s: 1.1, 1.2, 2.0, 2.1, 2.2
• Fix Version/s: 3.0
• Assignee: Phil Steitz
• Reporter: David James
• Created: 30/Aug/11 17:23
• Updated: 24/Mar/12 16:16
• Resolved: 01/Sep/11 00:14

Description

I have built an agent-based model using the Apache Commons Math library, which has come in handy.

The ValueServer seemed particularly helpful, as explained at:
http://commons.apache.org/math/userguide/random.html

My simulation needs repeatable randomness, so I used this form of the ValueServer constructor:

ValueServer(RandomData randomData)
Construct a ValueServer instance using a RandomData as its source of random data.
// http://commons.apache.org/math/api-2.2/org/apache/commons/math/random/ValueServer.html

However, in my simulation, I found that the ValueServer did not act deterministically if I supplied the same random number seed.

I have not inspected the source code, but I suspect that the ValueServer is not using the `randomData` generator correctly. If it was, then it should be deterministic.